Tag: Awkward

The 2014 Potato Award for “Most Awkward Interview” has been clinched, folks. An aspiring (read: totally untrained and unqualified) MMA journalist named Paulie G interviewed Cat Zingano at the UFC 178 media day yesterday, and came away with the anti-masterpiece of cringeyness you see above. My God, it is so awful. Some highlights.

- “Are you nice and relaxed? You seem relaxed.” — Already, it’s feeling like a BangBros scene. And the title of the video places it squarely in fanboy territory to begin with.

- “You had a long layoff. You had a little taste of it, right, with the Miesha Tate fight. And now you’re back. Right? And uh, do you think Amanda Nunes’s opponents were tough, that she faced, her first two opponents, in UFC?” LMFAO!!

Not since Ed Bassmaster’s run-in with Dana White has a UFC interview been more cringe-inducing. The difference is, this is not a joke; Franklin McNeil is really this uncomfortable. From the way he stares at the camera while addressing Weidman, to his “I can barely read these damn cue cards” verbal delivery, it’s a Tito vs. Fedor-caliber train-wreck. Wisely, the cameraman makes the executive decision to keep the focus on Weidman once the conversation gets going. My goodness. Is this the level of talent we can expect from backstage interviewers in the post-Helwani era?

After the jump: Two more brilliant spots from McNeil, this time with Jose Aldo, Ali Bagautinov, and their translators. If you can watch both of them in their entirety, you are officially qualified to be a Navy SEAL.

Despite the ferocity and abject hatred between the two fighters, Jon Anik‘s interview of the first-ever female Ultimate Fighter coaches didn’t produce anything memorable save for uncomfortable levels of awkwardness.

First of all, Rousey clearly didn’t want to be that close to Tate. She was also understandably upset about the fact that her two teammates Jessamyn Duke and Peggy Morgan just fought one another.

It only went downhill from there.

Once Anik asked Tate about Julianna Pena, Rousey essentially no-sold everything Tate said and stared vacantly into the distance. When Anik brought the mic back to the Olympian and asked her about Tate’s improvements as a fighter as well as her own improvements, Rousey answered with her usual candor but without her usual passion. She was honest but apathetic.

“The first time we fought it was less than a year since I’ve gone pro, and now I’m three years,” she said with a half-scowl on her face. It wasn’t Heidi Androl-death stare level but it was close. “I’m a more improved fighter since, I don’t think I’ve seen as good a performance from her since I won the title and she’s fought a few times since then.”

Read the conclusion of the interview featuring Jon Anik’s abysmal attempt at selling the UFC 168 PPV after the jump.